1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to solenoid valves directed to the regulation of hydraulic or pneumatic flow. More particularly, the present invention relates to the adjustable positioning of the coil assembly of a solenoid valve for control of hydraulic fluid flow in a power steering pump system.
2. Description of Related Art
Electromechanical valves are commonly used in a wide variety of automotive applications, such as power steering systems and the like. An electronically actuated solenoid valve typically controls a metering device for the control of pneumatic or hydraulic flow. The valve generally includes two portions. One portion is the electronic solenoid portion, which includes an electrical winding or coil and an armature. The second portion is the hydraulic flow control portion which has a metering device for regulation of fluid flow in response to movement of the armature and energization of the electrical coil of the electronic solenoid portion of the valve. Typically, such valves attempt to regulate flow in an on-off fashion or in a restricted-unrestricted fashion.
In such a valve, the armature is typically spring biased and actuated to control a fluid flow, either by movement of the armature itself or the control of a metering system operatively connected to the armature. At appropriate times, current is supplied to the electrical winding, or coil, and movement of the iron armature is caused by the magnetic flux in a magnetic flux path.
The armature can be placed inside the coil, or along the base of the coil, to complete a magnetic flux path. The electrical winding provides the magnetic flux which acts in conjunction with the spring force and against the fluid flow force. Energization of the winding causes movement of the armature between two positions and results in two states of resultant fluid flow, such as on-off or restricted-unrestricted. Similarly, modulation of the energization of the winding can result in varying degrees of control over the states of flow.
In such applications, the electrical winding and armature portions of the valve must be operatively connected to the hydraulic flow control portions of the device. Typically, the electronic portions of the valve are placed at a first end of the valve assembly, and the hydraulic flow control portions are placed at a second end or base of the valve. The electrical winding must also be connected to the electronic input, such as a signal from the electronic control module of the automobile. Similarly, the hydraulic flow control portions must also be connected to the hydraulic system of the controlled system, such as the power steering pump fluid flow path. The entire valve must therefore be appropriately positioned in order to allow all of these connections, that is, connections to the electronics, connections to the hydraulics, and connections between the electronics and the hydraulics.
The hydraulic flow control portions of the electromechanical solenoid valve are typically connected directly into the flow path of the hydraulic fluid by a threaded fitting. By inserting the valve directly into the flow path, optimum flow control can be obtained with a minimum of additional alteration of the flow path of the system.
However, when the hydraulic flow control portion of the valve is threaded into the fluid flow path, the remainder of the valve is thereby placed into a fixed position. Such fixed positioning can create difficulties in the attachment of the electrical winding to the electronic controls of the automobile. The electrical winding is typically attached to the electronic control by an electrical wiring harness. The wiring harness is attached to a terminal connected to the coil in the electromechanical valve. When the position of the entire electromechanical valve is fixed by the threading of the hydraulic control portions of the valve, difficulties can be encountered in connecting the wiring harness to the valve electrical terminal. For example, the wiring harnesses of different automobiles are placed in different locations and attention may not be given in the design to the need for location on a particular side or position with regard to the position of the electromechanical valve and its location within the fluid flow system.
The present invention overcomes the drawbacks of these prior art valves through the provision of a ratcheting assembly. The ratcheting assembly allows a full 360 degrees of rotation of the electrical winding assembly after the hydraulic flow control portions of the valve have been threadedly connected and fixed with regard to the fluid flow path.